Lakers stomped by Mavericks in series finale

Editor’s note – our apologies for the delay in posting this recap.

SAULT STE. MARIE – Looking to capture the magic they had found last Saturday against Alaska, the Lake Superior State Lakers were dealt a harsh dose of reality, as they dropped the series finale against the Minnesota State Mavericks 7-0 at the Taffy Abel Arena.

Mankato, the 8th ranked team in the country, came out with the foot on the gas pedal, as they controlled nearly every facet of the game.

“Discipline hurt us. You’ve got to be more disciplined against a team like that,” said Lakers head coach Damon Whitten. “They’re a really good team, give them a lot of credit. There’s a reason they’re ranked where they’re at. They are skilled, deep and fast. Obviously they were the better team tonight. Special teams killed us again tonight, which were a big difference on the weekend.”

Many questionable penalties were called against both teams throughout the game – a fact Whitten was particularly unhappy with.

Minnesota State was 4 for 7 with the man advantage, including one goal on a major penalty to Max Humitz, who was tossed for spearing.

Nick Kossoff was relieved after yielding five goals in two periods. Mareks Mitens, his replacement, allowed two more in the third period.

For the Mavericks, Connor LaCouvee picked up the shutout with a mere 13 saves – 8 of which came in the first period.

For those who are not mathematically inclined, Lake Superior took 5 shots on net in the final two periods – the same number of goals scored over that stretch by Minnesota State.

Lake Superior will look to regroup this weekend in Houghton against Michigan Tech. The Lakers and Huskies faced off back in October, with Michigan Tech taking 5 of 6 points. Joe Shawhan’s squad is coming off of a split against Ferris State.